A Lesson In Leadership
by Palmsandsunshine
Summary: Valentina Tracy must learn to raise her five brothers after her mother's unfortunate death. She learns to be a fighter, a mother, and most importantly a leader.


**A/N:**

 _Alan - 4_

 _Gordon - 9_

 _Virgil - 13_

 _John - 15_

 _Valentina - 18_

 _Scott - 18_

 _I know the age differences are a bit off, but bear with me here; it's to much work to keep track of six different ages_

 _This chapter is to introduce the characteristics of each of the Tracy members and their relationships with one another. If you only get one thing from this chapter it should be this:_ _Valentina is Scott's younger twin._

* * *

Valentina laughed loudly as a four-year-old Alan stumbled with his large skis. He let out an ear-piercing squeal and giggled as Val tried to hold him up while on a snowboard of her own. Attempting to regain balance, the boy locked onto her leg which caused her to stumble and fall down, the toddler tripping onto her puffy coat with the biggest smile on his face. They both giggled, Val rolling over onto her back and pulling Alan into a tight hug.

When she pulled back and attempted to get up, Alan still had a death-grip around her torso. And he was just around that age where his weight was getting hard to carry...

"Whoa! What happened here?" Scott came to a stop suddenly while on his snowboard, spraying snow directly into Val's face. " _Oops_."

Val glared at her older twin. "Scott, you're not helping."

"What?" He asked innocently, undoing the straps that held his feet to his snowboard.

Gesturing to Alan, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. "It's your turn to look after this little one here, and I'm kinda being held hostage."

He rolled his eyes and stabbed the board into the snow so it would stay upright, and picked Alan up off Valentina, placing the little boy on his hip with practiced ease. He held out a hand to Val, who took it gratefully, still eager to go snowboarding.

"Mom's gonna take Virgil, John, and I up the mountain for another round. Wanna come? Dad and Grandma can take care of the babies."

Alan pouted and pressed his nose into Scott's side, shielding it from the icy wind. "'M _not_ a baby!"

Scott laughed and gave him an affectionate rub on the head. "Compared to us, Sprout, you kinda are. We're fifteen years older than you... And Val—tell Mom I'm coming with."

"Did you see Gordon? He did a jump on the novice track," Virgil asked, suddenly skiing up to Val and nearly knocking her over for the second time.

"Cool, Virge," Valentina responded automatically, dusting snow off her coat. "Where's John?"

"Helping him and mom nurse his bruise. I didn't say he landed it. Gordon was bawling like a baby!"

Val's eyes widened and she picked up her board, running off in the direction of the bunny hills.

Virgil snickered at his sister's worry and turned to Scott. She was running so fast, she was practically out of sight. "You and her are both such mother hens."

"Ah-ah-ah," Scott corrected, shifting Alan to a higher position on his hip. Alan babbled nonsense, reaching for the fluffball at the top of Scott's beanie. "I believe the term you're looking for is 'smother hen'."

Using the momentum of the small downward slope, Val leaned in the direction she wished to go, then turning perpendicular to her direction to slow down. Gordon was there, not at all crying, but was indeed holding his knee with a small frown.

Lucille was comforting him, and John was standing off to the side, suppressing a laugh. Val sent him the stink eye and made a makeshift snowball, chucking it at him. She kneeled down next to Gordon, placing a gloved hand on his cheek.

"You okay, Squid?"

"I'm okay, 'Tina. I just think John and Virgil deserve a beating for laughing at me."

Valentina sent her little brother a small smile. If he was in the mood to joke around, then nothing was really _that_ bad. "What happened, mom?"

Lucille shook her head. "He landed the jump, but parallel to the path. The board caught the snow and he tripped forward onto his knees. Nothing too bad."

"Alright. Are you still taking us up the mountain?"

"Of course. I'll carry your board back up to the lodge. We have to get the two little ones settled."

Gordon gasped excitedly. "Mom, can you make us hot chocolate?"

"Sure, my little Squid. I'll make you and your brothers some before I go up the mountain with you older siblings, okay?"

At Gordon's nod, Val unstrapped her board before scooping up Gordon and allowing him to climb up on her back in a piggy-back ride. John followed after them, holding his skiing gear in his arms and trekking back up the hill after Valentina.

"John," Val called behind her. "Are you coming up the mountain with us?"

He shook his head. "Nah. National Geographic is showing a new documentary about the Mars Explorations. It features dad. I have to watch it. And anyways, I'm not that good at extreme sports."

Rolling her eyes, she retorted. "It's only extreme if you want it to be."

Finally making it over the hill, Val placed Gordon down on the ground. "Go find Dad," she whispered in his ear. Gordon ran off into the lodge to the hotel room, John following close behind. Even as the distance grew farther and farther, their squeals were still distinguishable from far away.

Smiling, Val stood up. "Where's Scott? He was here with Alan a second ago."

Lucille shrugged, walking into the warm hotel lobby. "Let's go find him."

It was Virgil they spotted first, who was waiting patiently on a couch next to the large fireplace in the lobby. He already had his helmet on and his goggles were hanging from his fingertips. His face brightened when he saw his mom walk into the room. "Mom! Can we go yet? Please!"

"Hold on, Virge," his mom chuckled. "We need to find Scotty first."

"He told me to wait here. He brought Alan back to Grandma's room. Can we go without him? It's gonna get dark soon and I really wanna go on the hard path," Virgil pleaded, hanging onto Lucy's arm.

"Is dad coming?" Val found herself asking, hopeful.

Lucille gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sweetie. Your father has to finish some work for NASA. You know how strict their deadlines are."

"But we're on vacation— "

"I know, Val. But what can you do if he refuses?" Lucy reasoned. "And anyways, you have me here. I'll try to make up for your father."

"I'm ready!" Scott announced, tossing Valentina her set of headgear and tucking his own under his free arm. "Let's go! I heard the conditions are perfect because of the snowstorm last week."

Lucille grinned at her oldest's enthusiasm. "Alright. Partners on the Ski Lift: I'll go with Virgil, and you two go together in front of us."

"Alright, Mom!"

Both their boards on their feet, Val and Scott marveled at the sparkling white peaks from the Chair Lift. Both heard Virgil behind them, letting out excited whoaaas at the sights.

After being dropped off, they waited for their mother and sibling, right on the edge of the mountain. Below sat the lodge and other mountain buildings, surrounded by green forest and covered in a thick layer of freshly-fallen snow.

There were no people on the track, save for a few who were already halfway down. It was still technically a "School Week", but the public school the Tracys went to was conveniently out on vacation. Most families were still stuck at home.

Lucille trudged through the snow in her skis, using her poles to guide her. "Virgil goes first so I can keep an eye on him. This is pretty much fresh powder but it might be packed in some places, so beware. It's okay if you two go ahead of Virgil to catch some speed, I'll stay behind him."

All three of her children nodded obediently.

Virgil, as instructed, was the first to go. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and leaned forward to begin his descent. Scott followed quickly afterwards, pulling down his goggles but also pulling up a bandana to cover his nose. He hated the cold air against his face, especially when snowboarding.

Lucille pushed off next, starting at a leisurely pace down the side of the mountain, but Val stood there just that tiny bit longer to engrave the picturesque view of the valley and mountains in her mind. A helicopter flew overhead, and her eyes glanced upwards for a moment, watching it soar into the distance. Out of habit, she subconsciously pulled up her scarf to her nose, stretched the goggles over her eyes and leaned forward to pick up speed.

Valentina caught up to her mother fairly quickly, passing with a quick two-finger salute and doing an easy jump off a short ramp.

She passed Virgil a few seconds later, praising him quickly—although the wind was probably too loud to hear anything—and speeding off to catch up to Scott. Boarding straight down the middle to catch some speed, she looked over her shoulder where Scott had gone down a snow ramp and had done a crooked 360, grabbing the tail of his board.

 _Show-off._

He crossed the path to join her, and Val gave him a thumbs-up. She cut in front of him to go down another ramp and crouched to get ready to jump.

Immediately after she took off, she ducked and grabbed the back side of her board, arching her back and flipping forward. She landed with a quiet grunt, knees bent and just barely keeping herself upright.

Happy at finally completing the move successfully, Val threw her hands up in celebration as Scott laughed and breezed past her, preparing for the next jump.

He landed it with ease and Val gained speed to congratulate him, but the birds flying in the sky from behind her caused Valentina to turn her head. Scott seemed to notice it too, steering himself next to her so they could both turn back and watch.

The very peak of the mountain, once completely covered with snow, was now collapsing in a cloud of white. The trees at the top of the steep peak were being pushed over by an unstoppable force, and disappearing under the turbulent waves of ice and snow.

Val angled her board and slowed down a bit, but a tug on her hand from Scott was all she needed to get her moving again.

Skipping all the jumps in favor of speed, they made it to the Lodge, and began calling out for everyone to get inside to the safety of the hotel, pointing to the mountain as they pulled off their boards and headgear.

Val tossed her board inside the hotel lobby before yelling to the people who were still playing in the snow outside. It wasn't long before everyone was inside, the rumbling of the avalanche somehow more noticeable than a young woman screaming at them.

As the crowd outside began to dissipate, Val suddenly gasped. "Virgil and Mom!"

She took off up the mountain in search of her little brother, but Scott caught up easily and wrapped his arms around her waist, practically tackling her to the ground. "No! We can't. It's too dangerous."

"Let me go, Scott!" Valentina was practically in hysterics, her eyes wet with unshed tears. "Virgil's still up there! And mom! We shouldn't have left them!"

As she kicked and sobbed, Scott had no choice but to drag her back to the lodge, pulling her up against the farthest wall from the mountain. The avalanche hit the lodge a few seconds after they had ran inside, shaking the structure relentlessly. Thankfully, it wasn't powerful enough anymore to pull down the hotel. It was still enough to cause a ruckus, though.

Scott pulled his twin underneath him, ducking into a ball and covering both their heads with his arms. Pieces from the walls and tables fell, lights flickered multiple times, and the guests screamed and children cried. Scott willed himself not to let out any noises of surprise or fear. If not for his own sake, then for the sake of his sister. He breathed in the smell of Valentina's coconut shampoo and tightened his protective hold.

It was over.

When Scott pulled his head up, his sister was crying silently.

"We have to go look for them," she pleaded.

"We can't, Val. The snow's probably still uneven, and we won't be able to dig up all that snow and look for them-"

"I don't care!" She snapped, silencing him immediately. "I'm going out to look for them, and nothing you say will stop me."

As she stormed off, her brother stood there, shocked. Even in her emotionally unstable moments, she had never snapped at him, or purposefully disobeyed him. She was always respectful, and was know to be the level-headed one, earning it from her mother.

With a sigh, he followed after her.

When Scott and Valentina Tracy were born, they were treated like royalty. Their father was the new hero of NASA's Mars Mission Program, and the media burst like unbridled fireworks into conspiracy theories. "Are the Tracy Twins really Jeff Tracy's kids?" and "Children of Astronaut Jeff Tracy look nothing like the father!"

Sure, Jeff may have brown eyes and light brown hair (sometimes mistaken for a dirty blonde) and Scott and Valentina had blue eyes and brown hair, but they were Jeff Tracy's kids in _every other way_.

They were both so perfect at commanding respect from a crowd that it must've been selected by God himself. They were resilient, honest, and hopelessly faithful to the family. But they also inherited the Tracy stubbornness, something that Scott was now resenting.

Val _refused_ to listen.

The front of the lodge was covered in up to six feet of snow, which had knocked over the snowboard and ski renting post and a few of the smaller stores off to the side. The cars in the parking lot had been pushed together by the snow and many were alarming, filling the air with a desperate siren, expressing their mourning with loud screams of pain.

He followed his sister through the deep snow, sinking in a few feet each step. She was sobbing as she trudged through the snow, and Scott fought to make his way to her.

He caught her elbow in his gloved hand, and prevented her from going further. "Hey, I know you want to look for them, but we can't."

She nearly collapsed in his arms and Scott pulled her to his chest. "We should make sure everyone back at the Lodge is okay," he murmured, rubbing her back, "If we get lost, the rescuers will be finding us, not the ones buried in the snow who really need us."

She nodded, wiping her tears with a shaky hand and following her older brother to the hotel room, where their father found them a few minutes later.

"Where's your mother?" Jeff asked, breathless.

Valentina opened her mouth to answer but Alan and Gordon ran out from the inside of the lobby, hugging her around her neck.

"'Tina! You're okay!" They both squealed.

Alan pulled back with a huge smile, but a frown came on his face when he saw that Val had been crying. "Why you sad, Teenie?"

He wiped Valentina's tears away with his bright red mittens, kissing her cheek. " Don't be sad! Allie's here."

"Alright, Sprout, enough of that," Scott cut in, picking his brother up and setting him on his shoulders. "I think 'Tina needs a few moments alone with Dad. Come on, Gordo."

As they left, Jeff sat his only daughter down on the steps of the lobby, brushing her hair back as gently as possible. "What happened, Val?"

She let out a labored breath, leaning forward onto her knees. "We went up the mountain, and Scott and I sped up to do tricks while Mom stayed with Virgil. I looked up and saw all the birds flying, and then behind me to see the avalanche. Scott and I came back to the lodge and warned all the people. Then I tried to go back up, but Scott pulled me back into the lodge right before the avalanche hit."

She wiped away a tear and looked back up the mountainside. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get to them in time, dad!" she cried.

Jeff sighed and pulled his only daughter to him, stroking her hair and rocking back and forth. "I'm sure they're fine, sweetie. Your brother's smart and your mother's a fighter. They'll both be fine," he repeated quietly, pressing kisses into her hair as tears ran down her cheeks.

They waited for hours on that step, watching as families were reunited in happy tears and big family hugs. Helicopters had arrived full of rescuers and K-9 units, but there was still no sign of either Virgil or Lucille. Jeff left an hour in, in search of his other children and wife.

Finally, from behind her, Val heard a familiar voice cry out. "That's her! That's my sister!"

She stood up suddenly and whipped around, crying out in relief when she saw Virgil's familiar green bubble coat, and kneeled down to pull him into a bone-crushing hug. "Where have you been?!"

He returned the hug eagerly. "I saw the birds and then I sped up. I made it to one of the houses a bit farther up the mountain, but every exit was covered in snow after the avalanche ended. We were stuck for a few hours."

"We…?" Val asked hopefully.

"Mrs. Creighton-Ward and I! She also has a daughter that's your age and we played board games and drank hot chocolate until we were rescued."

Valentina's face dropped. "You haven't seen mom?"

"Not since we got off the lift." Virgil seemed to notice his sister's demeanor. "What happened to her? Is she hurt?"

"No, no, Virgil. Mom's fine. She's just stranded, like you were," Val lied, although her polished veneer wasn't as perfect as it could have been.

A group of rescuers emerged from the top of a snowy hill, carrying a stretcher. "This one's already dead," one of them announced. "Please identify her."

Val's heart sank and she ran over, her hand tight in Virgil's. Although she was still incredibly sad for the woman, Val was momentarily relieved when it wasn't her mother's face she saw.

Virgil buried his face into her side as a girl—just a little older than Val herself—ran forward and screamed as soon as she saw her mother. The entire family followed behind, as the rescuers set the stretcher down and gave the family a moment to themselves, standing a few feet away.

Her father came up behind her and laid a hand gently on her shoulder. "Val, go take your brothers to the room and get some sleep. It's already past ten."

Reluctantly, she nodded and tugged Virgil's hand to get the twelve-year-old boy to follow her. Their path through the snow was lit by the giant generator-powered lights that had been brought in by the rescue teams. The pair wove through canopy-tents that had been set up for the injured and made their way towards the hotel. Before she walked into the wooden hotel, Val glanced up at the clear night sky.

Usually, the sky was bright with stars, and she and John would sneak onto the balcony to watch the glowing atmosphere with a warm cup of hot cocoa. But now, because of the sudden introduction of light pollution from the rescuers, the sky was dark save for a few of the brighter stars.

Leading Virgil into the elevator, she pressed the floor level and leaned her head exhaustedly back against the metal of the lift. Virgil still had a tight grip on her hand. She ruffled his hair affectionately, happy at the fact she still towered over him. Virgil was a bit short for his age and Valentina was nearly to her maximum height, half a head shorter than Scott. But Virgil would undoubtedly overtake her soon in height. All of her brothers probably would, so she relished in her current position as much as possible.

The elevator doors opened and Val pulled out a plastic key card from her pants pocket, walking to the door of the suite and opening it. All her other brothers were already there, bickering half-heartedly over something but being mindful of the sleeping Alan on the far bed.

There were three beds, perfect for the six Tracy kids who were no strangers to sharing space. With five siblings, you just… couldn't be bothered with having no space.

Gordon lobbed a pillow at Scott who dodged it easily. The pillow landed on the carpet by Val's feet.

"Alright boys, dad ordered me to force you all to sleep," she picked up the pillow from the floor and chucked it at Scott's face, who didn't see it coming and fell backwards onto a free bed. "You too, Scooter."

Luckily, they were all already dressed in their comfortable clothes that served as pajamas, so Val's only job was to get herself and Virgil ready for bed. She picked out a flannel pajama set for him and a t-shirt and sweatpants for herself from the suitcases against the wall.

"Virgil, go brush your teeth," Scott ordered, trying to pry a novel from John's hands. "John, stop resisting! It's almost midnight."

After getting everyone settled and finally asleep with the help of Scott, the two settled against the backboard on the last remaining bed, the one closest to the window. Usually the stars were bright. John had fought tooth-and-nail for this bed, but being older had its privileges.

Unfortunately, the bright stars were gone, scared away by the bright, gasoline-powered rescue torches the paramedics had set up.

Val let out a tired sigh. "Still no sign of her."

Scott shrugged with a solemn frown. "What are we gonna tell the boys if they never find her? Or if they do... and it's not good?"

"Force Dad to do it…?"

Scott chuckled and shifted his body, hunching down in a defeated posture. He ran his hands through his hair. "Right now, it's like…surreal. I can't imagine life without Mom, and now I'm forcing my brain to think that this might actually be happening."

"Dad's gonna have so much trouble taking care of them. Sure, Grandma can help, and so can the two of us, but they still need a mother figure in their life. Especially Alan. Fuck, what's he gonna do without Mom there? He's only four… What are we gonna do? You know dad, he buries himself in work. It's gonna be basically us taking care of the boys."

"We don't know for sure if she's gone yet, Val. Have a little bit of hope left."

"I'm trying, Scott. God, what are the rescuers even doing? I saw them out there, and they were hiking up the mountain. It could take hours to even just get halfway up the damn trail—and then they have to _find_ her, too?! Why couldn't they get a damn helicopter up there."

She was crying once more and Scott wrapped his arms around her gently. "I watched the news on mute earlier. None of the boys noticed it—save for maybe John—but they said a strong wind was blowing tonight. It might have been the cause of the Avalanche."

"A _wind_ storm?"

"Seems fishy to me, too, but I don't have a degree in meteorology, so I wouldn't know if that would be enough force…" Scott paused for a minute, thinking. He hummed in resignment, shaking his head. "It's been too long of a day. My brain is fried."

"It had to be something massive. The snow wasn't even that deep! It was like _three_ feet, max! And there's no way wind could trigger that much snow."

"You're saying it was purposeful?"

Val nodded as her twin shifted to rest his head on her stomach. "Think about it. It would make sense for there to be an avalanche after a snowstorm, but there wasn't enough snow for it to happen properly. The birds! They were flying away before any of the trees got knocked over. They must have gotten startled by something!"

"...like a bomb."

"Yes! The same one that the rescue company uses to cause small, isolated avalanches! They do that to prevent any from happening on a massive scale. I saw a helicopter just before I went down the course. They must have dropped a bomb and ditched."

"I'm thinking multiple bombs, though. And they had to have been set off at exactly the same time," Scott deadpanned boredly, but Val was too oblivious to his tone.

"So a remote! If we could find fragments of the bomb, to prove that this was sabotage, and then find pieces to repair it, we could trace the signal back to the remote, or track the serial number!"

Scott rolled his eyes. "You're thinking way too hard about this, Val. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this, besides just sabotage."

"Whatever. Go to sleep, you damn dreamcrusher. We'll wake up early tomorrow so we can see if dad has any news on mom."

He nodded drowsily as Val began to card her finger through her older brother's hair. He was asleep in mere seconds. That must've been some sort of record.

Valentina sighed. Scott had helped out a lot with the rescues while Val just sat on the steps of the hotel and cried. Scott was a hero. That also explained why he wanted to go into the air force. He was just meant to save people's lives. And he wouldn't stop, even if he was tired to the bone, much like he was now.

It was much longer before Val was able to sleep, too.

* * *

When Valentina slowly came to consciousness the next morning, she was aware of the multiple warm weights on her stomach, chest, and arms. Raising her head, she giggled when all of her brothers had crammed together on her and Scott's bed. Scott and Alan were curled up on either side of her. Virgil was laying on his back next to Scott, and Gordon was laying on top of him, their cheeks smushed together in an almost comical pose. The one that you would only see on the "on my best brother's birthday" cards. John was facing away from his siblings next to Alan, but his shoulders rose and fell in a steady beat, signifying the fifteen-year-old was asleep.

Her head turned at the light click of the door opening, and her very exhausted father stumbled in the room, setting down a duffle bag of snow equipment. At the sight of all his children in one bed, he let out a small smile, digging his phone out from his pocket. Val sent him a wink and set her head back against the pillow, pretending to be asleep.

She heard the familiar click of the phone's camera and opened her eyes, smiling at her dad. "Any news?"

Jeff sighed, collapsing face-first onto one of the now vacant beds. His voice was muffled by the sheets. "Nope. I've been up all night, and still _nothing_."

"Do you think she made it out and into a cabin like Virgil did?"

"Hopefully. She might've been too far up the mountain, though."

Val groaned and wanted to cover her face with her hands but her brothers were laying on her arms. And Scott was heavy. "Did you talk to the family who helped Virgil?"

"Yeah. The father is a very distant cousin of the prince of England. The mother and daughter were here on a trip and sitting outside when Virge ran up."

"Isn't the daughter mine and Scott's age?"

"A few months younger, but yes. Her name is Penelope."

"They took care of Virgil for a few hours. They seem really nice."

Jeff rolled over onto his back, checking his watch. "You should wake up your brothers. It's already nine thirty. I know you and Scott stayed up 'til late last night talking."

Val nodded, raising her hand to nudge John on the shoulder. All of her brothers needed to be woken up a specific way. John, a light sleeper and a methodical morning-person, was by far the easiest to wake up. "Hey, Starboy," she murmured softly. "Time to get up."

John shifted and let out a groan, rolling off the bed and onto the balls of his feet, running on autopilot. He stumbled to the bathroom and closed the door behind him, his sister and father watching with silent amusement.

She leaned down and kissed little Alan's hair, gently shaking him to wake the little boy up. "Allie. It's morning again. We can go downstairs and have pancakes."

The boy grumbled in his sleep, curling closer into Val's side, trapping her movement even farther. Val sent a look to her dad that clearly asked for help. He chuckled and picked Alan up gently, pulling the boy so his head was to his dad's shoulder. Using her freed arm, Valentina jostled Gordon in the side once and watched him squirm, which woke up Virgil, who was a very light sleeper.

"Hey!" Virgil exclaimed, shoving his brother off him and onto the floor.

Gordon was awake immediately, rubbing his eyes and frowning. "What was that for?"

"You were laying on top of me!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Boys!" Jeff cut in, his voice authoritative but the grin on his face saying otherwise.

John came out of the bathroom then, his hair combed and all cleaned up for the day. Both Virgil and Gordon rushed into the bathroom, their argument being carried through foamy mouths as they brushed their teeth.

Now, all that was left was Scott—the heaviest sleeper of them all. Besides Alan, of course.

Gently lifting up his head from her arm, she slid off the bed and pulled up the tucked duvet that they had been too tired to sleep under the previous night. Snapping the blanket up quickly, it caused Scott to awaken with an exclamation as he rolled off the bed. Val, John, and Jeff burst out laughing as Scott tried to regain his breath from when it was knocked out of him.

"Val!" Scott whined.

Alan chose that exact moment to wake up, startled by the loud noise. " _Whazzgoin_ ' _on…?_ "

Jeff rubbed the boy's blonde hair and smiled. "Just your big brother and sister goofing off."

Alan stuck his fingers into his mouth and put his head back down. "Oh… mm'kay."

Val held a hand out to help Scott up, not expecting him to pull her down with him. She shrieked and fell to the carpet while he rolled over, using his weight to hold her down, running fingers over her ribs.

Laughing and squirming, Val tried to push him off, but her ticklish sides were distracting her.

"Revenge!" Scott cackled, but was cut off when two small forms tackled him to the floor.

"Run, Val!" Gordon yelled as he and Virgil held down an arm of Scott each.

"Hey!" Scott exclaimed. " _Traitors_!"

John dusted off his hands and smirked.

Oooh-wee, that boy was going to be a lady-killer in college with that smirk. If only he wasn't so awkward in crowds.

"Anything to save Val," John proclaimed faithfully.

"Johnny, don't you _dare_ come near me."

Cupping a hand around his ear, John pulled a face. "What's that? I think I heard something. Did you hear anything Val?"

"Nope, John. I didn't hear a _thing_."

"Val!" Scott exclaimed in protest, squirming even more. "How could you?!"

"It's just a load of hot air, Johnny!" Gordon giggled, using the bed to anchor his weight down on Scott.

"Get him, John!" Val cheered.

Pouncing and straddling his brother, John stuck his fingers into Scott's side, holding steady when his brother rocked back and forth to escape the relentless torture. After a few seconds, John smiled and stood back up, frowning when Scott put a hand on his ankle.

"What?"

He was pulled to the ground and into Scott's arms as his older brother gathered him, Gordon, and Virgil into his arms. Val grinned and joined in the hug as Alan escaped from his father's arms and jumped on the Tracy dogpile, the perfect little cherry on top.

"Allie wants in, too!"

Val adjusted her arm so he was laying safely on top of Virgil, not in danger of falling off.

"Look here!" They all took one glance at their father, who was holding up a camera once again, and burst into laughter.

* * *

After breakfast, they all sat on the front steps of the lodge as some of the younger kids played in the snow. The older ones watched as families were reunited. Most of the people they found at this point were dead, suffocated in the snow or from the overwhelming cold of the night.

There were some survivors in the cabins that had been further up the mountains, but most of them were already searched.

From over the hill, Val could see a group of rescuers carrying a bright orange backboard, someone wearing a cream-colored snow jacket.

"Blonde hair! Purple coat! Found this morning!"

That perfect family morning was now ruined.

Val pushed Scott to get up and both ran through the snow to get to one of the tents where the backboard was set up. A doctor was blocking their way. "Are you family?" He asked, not looking up from the clipboard.

"Yes," Jeff replied.

Looking up, the doctor's eyes widened when he recognized Jeff Tracy, practically American Royalty.

The doctor stepped aside, and Lucille Tracy was revealed to her family. Her lips were tinted a strange color of blue and she wasn't moving at all. Not even the slightest rise-and-fall of her chest to signify a breath.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Tracy," the doctor finally cut into the silence. "She was found dead earlier today. The cold got to her."

No one noticed as Val sunk to her knees, hidden behind her younger brothers. She regained her bearings, slipping out of the tent and running back into the hotel.


End file.
